Captain Torkel and Fox and Garcia and Van Gundy stood beside Kelly.
Lieutenant Washington, too drunk to stand, sprawled in the grass.
They let the cool, clean air wash out their lungs like sweet perfume.
They took off their shoes. They dug their toes into the soft, silky
grass. They sniffed the poignant, spicy smell of the brilliant flowers.
Van Gundy, despite his trembling, played _Turkey in the Straw_ on his
harmonica. Captain Torkel did a dance like that of a Russian Cossack.
Lieutenant Washington, squatting like a dark Buddha and with his torso
swaying drunkenly, clapped his hands in time with the dance. Fox hummed
the tune, and even Kelly nodded his head rhythmically. Only Garcia
stood motionless.
"It's a good planet!" exclaimed Fox at last.
Van Gundy's trembling hand whacked spit out of his harmonica. His eyes
rolled fearfully toward the forest. "We don't know for sure yet."
"I think Fox is right," said Captain Torkel. "It _is_ a good planet.
Enjoy it, men. Breathe deeply. Smell those flowers. Feel the grass.
Because very soon we've got to start Earthward. We've got to store our
memories full of this beauty so it'll last for twelve years."
"Oh, God," sighed Fox. "Twelve years."
Garcia stepped forward, swelling his chest. Strangely, it seemed that
all the hatred had been drained out of him. "I was wrong," he said.
"We're not crazy and we're not dead. This planet is good. It's so good
that I'd like to stay here as long as I live."
"What?" asked Captain Torkel, blinking.
"I said I'd like to stay here as long as I live."
The words echoed in the still air. They were like evil seeds, falling
into fertile minds and sprouting.
"And not go back to Earth?" asked Fox, stroking his beard.
"And not go back to Earth."
* * * * *
Captain Torkel stiffened. "Get those thoughts out of your head, Garcia.
There are two billion people back on Earth. They'll die unless we tell
them about this planet. We've got wives, friends--"
"Not me," said Garcia sternly. "No wife and no friends."
Fox shrilled, "The only reason I volunteered for this trip was to
get away from my wife and that lousy New York apartment. You're not
married, are you, Captain?"
"N--no."
"Me neither," hiccoughed Lieutenant Washington. "Not many girls'll
marry spacemen."
"Kelly's married, though," mused Fox. "How about it, Kelly?"
"Heaven," mumbled Kelly.